For years, Unity and Unreal have been the dominant forces in game creation, powering roughly 70% of Steam releases in 2025. While open‑source options like Godot have gained traction and some studios such as Capcom rely on proprietary tools like the RE Engine, the market has largely remained a duopoly.
Against this backdrop, three seasoned developers—Arjan Brussee, Sjoerd De Jong, and Michal Valient—have founded Immens with the belief that there is still space for a fresh engine that addresses the shortcomings of today’s offerings. The founders’ résumés read like a who’s‑who of the industry: experience at Epic Games (the creators of Unreal), Guerrilla Games, Boss Key, and even Apple. Their collective background gives them a unique perspective on why the status quo feels increasingly restrictive.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Brussee argued that the timing is right for a new engine because the tools that existed just a few years ago no longer meet modern developers’ needs. He highlighted the role of AI‑assisted programming as a catalyst that can revive the possibility of building a game engine from the ground up, while still providing enough guidance to keep development rapid and reliable. Valient, Immens’ chief technology officer, clarifies that the AI component is not about generating content through simple prompts. Instead, the AI is woven into the engine’s architecture to make it highly extensible.
"AI can reason over massive codebases and data sets," he explains. "If we design the engine with that capability in mind, even solo creators or tiny teams can plug in custom systems—like a bespoke particle effect—without being confined to a limited scripting layer. The goal is to let developers harness AI to extend functionality quickly and safely." The motivation behind Immens is also economic.
Brussee describes the current market as "rough" and notes that game production costs are spiraling upward, making it harder for small studios to survive. He asks whether new workflows could break this cycle, allowing teams to deliver high‑quality experiences with fewer resources, shorter schedules, and lower financial risk. De Jong, the chief product officer, echoes this sentiment, observing that the engine landscape has become overly standardized and consolidated. While that consolidation provides a solid foundation, it also stifles innovation.
"We need a different approach, not just more of the same," he says. One of the pain points De Jong identifies in existing engines is their monolithic nature.
Developers must adapt to proprietary file formats and rigid pipelines, which can be a barrier to creativity. With AI, Immens aims to flip that dynamic, offering an engine that molds itself to the developer’s workflow.
"Flexibility is key," he asserts. "You should be able to swap modules, add new tools, and tailor the interface to match your personal and project‑specific requirements." Valient acknowledges that AI, while powerful, can behave unpredictably if left unchecked.
Immens therefore emphasizes transparency and control: users can see exactly what the engine is doing, review its decision history, and reproduce results reliably. This level of oversight is crucial for creative tasks such as generating multiple characters with specific traits—tasks that previously might have taken weeks can now be prototyped over a coffee break and iterated rapidly. The architecture of Immens is deliberately open.
By relying on text‑based, open standards for assets, the engine can interoperate with popular tools like Blender, Maya, and other generative pipelines. Brussee points out that when files are human‑readable, any AI can parse and manipulate them, fostering smoother integration across the development stack. This openness counters the tendency of many engines to become isolated ecosystems that resist external plugins. There is a vocal backlash against AI in game development, fueled by sensational claims that a single prompt could produce a Grand Theft Auto‑scale experience.
Immens’ team tempers such hype, describing AI as a "tool" rather than a magic button. Valient believes AI will elevate the whole industry by making creators more capable, while De Jong stresses the responsibility to wield the technology ethically, just as with any powerful instrument. Economic anxieties also swirl around AI, with some fearing a speculative bubble.
Valient draws a parallel to the dot‑com era, noting that while many companies vanished, the underlying internet persisted and thrived. He argues that Immens is focused on building a genuinely useful engine; AI simply accelerates development and expands creative horizons. Whether the market is in a bubble remains uncertain, but the team is committed to delivering value regardless of broader valuation trends.
Funding for Immens is still in its early stages. The founders have secured initial commitments but have not disclosed exact figures, describing the amount as "reasonable." Brussee warns against over‑funding, suggesting that excess capital can breed complacency.
The company deliberately remains lean—just the three founders and a handful of helpers—to stay agile and maintain a scrappy mindset. Balancing team size with ambition is a delicate act.
De Jong notes that building an engine is a complex, long‑term endeavor that cannot be rushed by simply adding more personnel. Instead, a focused, small team can make thoughtful decisions and iterate efficiently, especially given the narrow window of opportunity presented by rapid AI advancements. Immens is currently developing a proof‑of‑concept demo that showcases a generative‑AI‑driven editing workflow.
The team aims to release this demo within the month, having already accelerated their timeline—what they expected to take until year‑end is now half that time. While the business model is still being refined, Brussee admires Epic’s "we succeed when you succeed" licensing philosophy but admits it is too early to commit to a specific approach. Ultimately, the founders hope Immens will empower creators to push the medium forward, fostering more artistic risk‑taking and innovation.
"We love games and want to see more daring, expressive experiences," says Brussee. "If our technology can help developers realize those visions, that would be amazing."